Alexander webber



\No Moole1-I A. WEBBER.

WASHING MACHINE. No. 599,029. A Patented Feb. 15, 1898.

. w n 5i" WIWI Q fg s3 N f @my A I Imm lse To a/ZZ whom t may con/cern.-

UNITED ."rarnsfy ALEXANDER'WEBBER, orwinrnnor, ims'sAcnus'nfrrs WASHING- srncrrrcn'rron 'forming part of Letters :P Application inea ppn 16,1896.

Be it. known that I, ALEXANDER WEB'BErg, of Winthrop, county of Suffolk, State of Mas'- sachusetts,-have invented an Improvement in WashingMachines, of which the following description, in connection with -the accoml panying drawings, is aspecication, like let- `-ters and figures on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to clothes-washing machines which comprise', essentially, a tub or vat in-whi'ch the clothes are vto be washed, a rotatable stirrer therein, and mechanism for operating thestirrer preferably first -in one direction and then in the other direction, my present inventionhaving for its object vthe production of a convenient, effective, andy also forms a part of my invention, and the means for instantly connecting or disconnecting the stirrer and its operating mechanism` `are simple and eective.

Various other features of my invention will be hereinafter described in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

Fg'ire 1 is a front elevation, with the tub in section and `broken out to save space, of a 'washing-machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a right-hand lside elevation of the stirrer and its operating mechanism. Fig. a is a vertical sectional view of the -stirrer-operating mechanism, taken'on the line Fig. 2. Fig. .tis a perspective view, enlarged, of the upper end of the stirrer-shaftand coupling. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view thereofv broken 0E at its lower end, and Fig. 6 is a partial detail in elevation showing alslight modification in construction .of part of the clutchin'gmechanism to be'referred to.l Referring to Fig. 1, .the tub A., of any suit- MACHINE. `f

stem no. seaoaaaatea rebrnffy v15 ieee."

drawal of the clothes and normally closed by a button or catchgAl. The lid has an openvplatesfa I sides lof the lid, respectively, and forming' provided with depending blades or fingers b' long hub b2` of metal, the interior of the huband a hole in the frame b being made square vshaped lowerend c of the stirrer-shaft. l y Y Referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that may move up and down thereon (see dotted low-the stirrer.

Vvented from being woundabout they stirrershaft and torn or strained, while thevertical itself to the quantity of clothes in the tub.

lf the ,stirrer is made entirely of wood, it will float on the water in the tub, and in such case if therev should be a greater depth of wa ter at all; but 'by the addition ofthe metal hub to the stirrer, as herein provided, the Weight of the stirrer lis increased to such an extent that it will normally sink in the water to the level of and engage the clothing, no

amount. v

As shown in springbearing at its .upper end against vva transverse slide member c2, guided in vertical slots c3. An annular' shoulder c4 on the part c of the shaft the bearing d, w

shaft below and adjacent the bearinga by a 'or polygonal to receive the correspondingly-A lines, Fig. 1)without exposing the shaft be-V This is a very valuable and importantfeature, as th clothes are pref ter present than the depth .of the massofA clothes the stirrer might not engage the lat suitable set-screw 6, soI that by removing the -1 ableccnstruction, is provided with acover A and an aperture for the admission and with' a lid A2, preferably hinged at A? and having ing AX, herein shown as" `crossed by annular f a', secured to theouter'andinnerf' oa f bearings-to support` the stirrenand its shaft, which depend therefrom within thetub.v i f'.

The stirrer is shown as a horizontal .frame b, preferably of wood and havingits armsl 265' 'the stirrer having secured toits upper side a movement of the .stirrer enables it to adapt matter whetherthe latter is large or small in Figs. 1, 2, ande, the-'upper'end 95 of the stirrer-shaft is made cylindrical at c l and hollow to receive a spring s, Fig. -5, said X00: elow the slots c'i-rests on ea collar c5 is held on the 7o the.' hub has an inturned flangelf,y and a retaina` ing-plate cX is secured, as by a screw/5, to the). end ofthe stirrershaft,so' that the stirrer shaft may be withdrawn when desired.

The stirrer-operating mechanism is mounted on a bracket D, of suitable shape, having a bearing D', an overhanging arm D2, feet D3, and a forwardly-'extended foot D4, the feet D3 being adapted to enter socket-pieces a2 on the lid A2, while an open socket a3 receives the foot D4, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, a screw or thumb nut a4 bearing against the foot and holding the operating mechanismrmly in place.

Longitudinally-slotted ears d form a part of the top of the bracket, and a cross-head d is adjustably secured thereto by bolts d2 nearer to or farther from the overhanging arm D2, which is transversely slotted or made open to accommodate a gear d3, fast on a crank-shaft d4, -mounted in a bearin g d5 on the cross-head, said shaft having a suitable handle-armd.

A large driving-gear f, meshing with the gear d3, is mounted on a stud f', rotatable in the bearing `D,'said driving-gear having on its face a bevel-gear f2 in mesh with two smaller bevel-gears g and h, rotatably mounted on a shaft 7c, longitudinally movable and rotatable in bearings 3 4 in the overhanging arm D2 and the foot- D4 of the bracket, Figs. 1, 2, and 3. v

`The lower end'of the shaft k nally notched or recessed at kx, Fig. 5, to engage the slide member c2 of the stirrer-shaft, making a detachable coupling or connection between the operating and stirrer shafts k ande, which automatically couples and unc'uples upon application or ,removal of the operating mechanism tothe tub A,the spring s retaining the slide member c2 in engagement with the shaft k as the latter is moved longitudinally, as will be described.

By rotation of the driving-gear f2 the gears g and'h will be rotated in opposite directions, said gears forming part of a clutch mechanism.

Like collars or sleeves 'm and n are mounted on the shaft 7o and held rigidly thereto vby means of set-screws S 9, engaging the shaft, said collars being provided with oppositelybeveled annular anges 'on' n, respectively.

The hub of gear 7L rests against the bearing 4, and the collar n is hollowed out at 'nx to receivea spring s2, surrounding the shaft obe tween the collar and the upper end of the hub of the `gear h, to retain the latter seated. Collar m is similarly recessed at mf to receive a spring s3 between the collar and the hub of the gear g, maintaining the lattei` against the under side of the bearing 3.

The gears are provided on their inner faces with projections g.h, respectively, preferably covered with rubber or non-metallic material,

to be engaged singly by pins 'm2 or n? on their4 4adjacent collars m and fn, said pins being sometimes provided with rolls, one of which, as m3, is shown in Fig. 6 mounted on the outer end of the pin m2 to reduce friction.

It will be obvious that if one collar is brought into engagement with its adjacent said shaft partaking` of such rotation.

gear'and the other collar heldI from engagement with-its gear' the shaft 7a will be rotated in one direction, and when the position of the collars is reversed the shaft will be rotated in the opposite direction, the stirrer coupled to The collars thus act as movable r members of a clutch mechanism to control the direction of rotation of the actuating-shaft la.

A cam-surface f3 is suitably mounted to ro- `tate with a gear f, the main portion of the cam being a circular arc, the extremities dropping towardthe center at f X, Figs. l and 3. Rotation of the gear f causes the flange of first one and-then the other collar to engage the portions f X of the cam f3 and then the circular portion, so that when .the collar m is moved, as in Fig. 3, into engagement with its gear g the longitudinal movement of the shaft will vWithdraw the collar n from engagement with its gear 7L, and vice versa, as in Figs. l and 2. The circular portion of cani f3 maintains ,the engaged collar in operative engagement with its cooperating gear throughout its extent. gaged from its gear just as4 the other collar is brought into engagement with its gear, so that there is no jump or'jar of the mechanism as the shaft 7s is rotated rst in oneland then in.

crank-shaft d4 in place of gear cl3 the speed' may be increased or decreased,'but with consequentV increase or decrease in the power necessary to be applied to the crank-shaft.

Obviously the acting mechanism may be operated when the shaft 7o is not vin vertical position, as herein shown, `for any other desired position 4for said mechanism may be employed without departing from lthe scope of my invention. Y v g v Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a washing-machine, a tub, its cover, a stirrer-shaft rotatably suspended therefrom,

a stirrer `within the tubl havingA depending arms or fingers, a hub on its upper side provided at its upper end with an inturned ange,

the stirrer-shaft entering said hub, anda retaining-plate securedto the lower endof the said shaft, said plate -being larger than the opening in the ange and adapted to move longitudinally within the hub, the hub of the stirrer being of such length as to at all times 4conceal the lower end of the stirrer, substantially as described.

2. In a washing-machine, a tub provided with a cover, a rotatable shaft Suspended therefrom and having a tubular longitudi- One collar is disen? IOO IIO

nally-slotted upper end, a sliding spring controlled coupling member movable in and guided by said slots, and vertically and freely movable stirrer on and rotatable with said shaft .Within the tnb,'combined with actuating mechanism inelndin g a rotatable lonn common gear in mesh with saidtwo gears and adapted to lbe rotated, clutch members fast on said shaft, tocoperate with the gears thereon alternately, and connections actuated by the common Age'ar and betwecnit and thev shaft, to move the latter longitudinally and bring one of the clutch members into engagement With its adjacent gear before complete disengagement of the other clutch member and its gear, substantially as described.

4. A stirrer-operatin g mechanism for Washi'ngfmachines, comprising a longitudinallymovable, rotatable shaft, two gears freely rotatable thereon in opposite directions, an intermediate gear in mesh with said two gears,

clutch members fast on said shaft and each provided with a'projection to cooperate alternately with projections on the adjacent loose gears, a spring between each ofsaid gears and clutch members, and means controlled' by rotation of theoommon gear to move the shaftlongitudinally to thereby bring either of the clutch members into engagement with its adjacent gear before complete disengagementof the other clutch member and gear, substantially as described.

5,. A stirreroperating mechanism forwashf ingffnachines', comprising a longitudinally-l movable, rotatable shaft having tWo gears rotatable thereon in opposite directions, each gear having a yielding vnonmetallic projection on its inner face, a common gearin mesh With and to rotate said gears, pins movable with said shaft and each provided With a roll, to cooperate with the projections on the gears alternately, and means actuated bythe intermediate gear to move the shaft longitudinally and bring one of the rolls into engagement with the projection on the adjacent gear 'before com plete disengagement/of the other roll and projection, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specification in the presence of tivo subscribing Witnesses.

ALEXANDER WEBBER.

lfiitnesses: l l

JOHN C. EDWARDS, AUGUSTA E. DEAN. 

